# what causes tunneling?



## codykrr (Jul 30, 2010)

So the other day I was enjoying a cigar and noticed the cherry kept dwindling down to the very center of the cigar. seemed like it was a constant battle to keep the wrapper lit. pretty much ruined my experience with it.

Nothing changed, it was kept at 65% and I smoked it in my house, so there wasnt any sudden change in humidity. 

Any insight as to what caused this?


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## Cigary (Oct 19, 2007)

RH is usually the culprit. Even if your hygrometer says it's 65% it may be suspect. Questions come up like this:

How long was the cigar in your humidor
Were you outside
Sudden change in environment can make a difference as to how it burns
What do you use for RH control


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## zeavran1 (Aug 18, 2009)

Poor rolling.


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## johnmoss (Jun 18, 2010)

I know for sure one reason could be the wrapper is to wet. This happens to me when i smoke outside on humid days. I take a perfect cigar from my humi and take it outside. The wrapper sucks up moisture from the air much faster than the binder/filler. The wrapper burns slower/uneven. The binder/filler still close to the 65% that it was in my humi burns like it should.

I'm guessing a cigar that's rolled loose could probably do the same thing. The binder is there to provide a good even burn. If it's loose then even more air and an even faster burn.

That's my two cents anyway.


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## Cigary (Oct 19, 2007)

All of the above as tunneling is a PIA and there are reasons for bad burns. It's like a checklist of things to look at as to how you want to ensure you keep your cigars at an optimum quality level.


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## Mhouser7 (Aug 13, 2010)

My neighbor used to complain about tunneling on all his cigars! Check his humidor and everything was good...... Come to find out he was licking his entire cigar before he lit it :dunno::der:

Since he stopped this old school method... they all burn great! So I would say too moist of wrapper is a possibility.


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## Russell Pta (Jun 28, 2010)

Mhouser7 said:


> My neighbor used to complain about tunneling on all his cigars! Check his humidor and everything was good...... Come to find out he was licking his entire cigar before he lit it :dunno::der:
> 
> Since he stopped this old school method... they all burn great! So I would say too moist of wrapper is a possibility.


my buddy did that last night. i was like :tease: i'd never seen that before.


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## xJaCkSlApx (May 7, 2010)

I blame poor rolling . I keep my sticks at 72% humidity sometimes it reaches 74 and all my sticks burn fine. Only had 2 cigars through out my 10 month newbie cigar smoking life that tunneled.


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## Cigary (Oct 19, 2007)

Mhouser7 said:


> My neighbor used to complain about tunneling on all his cigars! Check his humidor and everything was good...... Come to find out he was licking his entire cigar before he lit it :dunno::der:
> 
> Since he stopped this old school method... they all burn great! So I would say too moist of wrapper is a possibility.


Gotta respectfully disagree with this because for the past couple of weeks I have been "wetting" every cigar I have smoked ( 30 in all ) and none of them have tunneled. Licking a cigar vs Wetting is not as dramatic because when I wet my cigars I run it under water for about 8 seconds and then wipe off the droplets and set it aside for about 10 minutes and then light it up. I used to lick my cigars back in the day and it didn't cause any adverse issues as far as tunneling.


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## jim_jones (Apr 14, 2010)

After reading the post on wetting your cigar I've been running mine under the faucet before smoking, being a noob I can't say if they taste any better but there's been no burn issues.
One the other hand I did have some tunneling problems when I first started smoking but keeping my humi at 63% and waiting two weeks before I smoke anything cured that.


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## Cigary (Oct 19, 2007)

jim_jones said:


> After reading the post on wetting your cigar I've been running mine under the faucet before smoking, being a noob I can't say if they taste any better but there's been no burn issues.
> One the other hand I did have some tunneling problems when I first started smoking but keeping my humi at 63% and waiting two weeks before I smoke anything cured that.


Not having a real baseline or standard makes it hard to appreciate wetting a cigar because you have no history but that's part of the cigar experience as you can smoke them both ways and see which one you prefer.


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## Vwluv10338 (Aug 24, 2010)

Pardon a noob but how is does wetting help the burn? This is the first I have heard of it. However, I think I have seen someone in a movie but one in their mouth and pull it out with their fingers essentially wetting the whole thing.


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## piperdown (Jul 19, 2009)

Cigary said:


> I used to lick my cigars back in the day and it didn't cause any adverse issues as far as tunneling.


THAT'S a visual I could have done WITHOUT! :biglaugh:


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## Habano (Jul 5, 2010)

Yeah I got to agree with some of the other comments on here. Poor rolling seems like it could be the main issue. If the rolling is bad, then I think this sets it up for a bad smoke.


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## Cigary (Oct 19, 2007)

piperdown said:


> THAT'S a visual I could have done WITHOUT! :biglaugh:


So I'm guessing you don't want the U Tube Link? :tease:


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## codykrr (Jul 30, 2010)

Thanks for all the replies. Im thinking this particular case was due to poor rolling. Mailnly because it was pretty soft between my fingers.


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## gibson_es (Jan 23, 2010)

im my experiance the number one issue was the wrapper was too wet (most of the time too high of humidity) 

or a sudden change in humidity, if it was at a low humidy (some one tell me if i have this bacwards)

and got a sudden increase, and was then smoked not too long after this, the wrapper will be closer to the new RH then the inside is, thus causing it to burn slower, and the cigar caving.........


dont know if this was said yet, its getting late, im tired, and didnt feel like reading the replies on here. also, if i have the RH thing backwards, someone please correct it, but im pretty sure i got it right.


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## bopmachine (Aug 9, 2010)

I find smoking too fast can also cause tunneling. But for themost part it usually the wrapper is more moist than the filler.


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## Fandango (Aug 27, 2010)

my guess would be that its a combination of things; a wrapper thats extremely moist or oily, and a cigar thats not rolled tightly enough...


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## asmartbull (Aug 16, 2009)

I used to think it was the outside humidity
since wetting cigars and seeing no adverse effects,
I don't believe it to be the case.
Fact is, I have had tunneling while smoking inside ....
My only conclusion 
SH*T happens..................


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